These are the isolated tracks from Led Zeppelin’s “Black Dog”: Robert Plant’s a cappella vocal, John Paul Jones’ bass and John Bonham’s drums together, and Jimmy Page’s guitar. The thing to listen for is the riff’s rhythmic trick. The guitar and bass phrase cuts across the beat while Bonham keeps a straight pulse underneath, and in the stems you can hear exactly where the two lines meet.
Isolated vocals
Isolated bass and drums
Isolated guitar
Isolated drums
Every part, one at a time
What to listen for
- Call and response. The song alternates between Plant singing alone and the band answering with the riff. In the vocal stem, those unaccompanied lines show how much power and pitch control he had in 1971.
- Jones and Page in unison. The main riff is doubled by bass and guitar. With the bass and drums alone you can follow Jones’ line through every twist and hear that he wrote it.
- Bonham against the riff. Bonham doesn’t follow the riff’s odd phrasing. He plays a steady beat and lets the riff float over it, so the two drift apart and lock back in. It’s a famously confusing groove to count, and the drum stem makes it much easier.
- Layered guitars. Page stacked several guitar parts, and the isolated guitar shows a hard, compressed tone and a solo that is loose and bluesy rather than flashy.
About the recording
“Black Dog” opens Led Zeppelin’s untitled fourth album, usually called Led Zeppelin IV (1971), produced by Jimmy Page. It is credited to Page, Plant and Jones, and Jones came up with the main riff. Much of the album was recorded at Headley Grange, a country house in Hampshire, using the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio. The title comes from a black Labrador that wandered around the house during the sessions; the dog never appears in the lyric.
The stop-start, call-and-response arrangement is often compared to Fleetwood Mac’s “Oh Well”, which Plant has named as an influence. Released as a single in the US, “Black Dog” became one of Zeppelin’s most-played songs on rock radio and a regular in their live shows.
More Led Zeppelin isolated tracks
The Led Zeppelin hub collects all our Zeppelin stems, and our John Bonham page gathers his drum tracks. Good companions to this one are Whole Lotta Love (drums and bass, bass only), Fool in the Rain (Bonham drums) and What Is and What Should Never Be (Robert Plant vocal only). To learn how stems are made, see our isolated tracks guide.
FAQ
Who wrote the Black Dog riff?
John Paul Jones came up with the riff. The song is credited to Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones.
Why is Black Dog hard to count?
The riff’s phrasing doesn’t line up neatly with the bar, while John Bonham plays a straight beat underneath. Listening to the bass and drums stem makes it easier to follow.
Why is the song called Black Dog?
It’s named after a black Labrador that hung around Headley Grange while the band was recording there.
